Get Started with AI.
Then Start Building the Strategy.
Begin your organization's journey with AI, and if you are already using it,
start building out an AI strategy for change management and data governance.
AI is already in your organization.
The question is whether it's governed.
Staff are using ChatGPT for grant writing.
Finance team members are experimenting with Copilot for Excel.
It's happening with or without a policy.
Get ahead of it, protect your data, and make use of AI in a mission-aligned way.
Step 1
Write your AI use policy and
stand up a data governance council.
These two things, done early, will save enormous headaches later.
The policy sets the rules. The council keeps them current.
What your AI use policy should cover
Acceptable use cases
What AI can and cannot be used for. Grant writing? Great. Client casework? Maybe with guardrails. Financial reporting? Needs review process.
Data classification rules
What data types can go into an AI prompt and which cannot. Donor PII, financial records, donor data, and HIPAA-covered information each need their own guardrail.
Approved tools and platforms
Which AI tools are sanctioned for organizational use. Unapproved tools = shadow IT = audit risk. Keep this list short and current.
Disclosure and attribution
When do staff need to disclose AI-assisted work? In grant applications, to clients, to the board? Set the expectation now.
Review cadence
AI moves fast. Your policy should have a built-in review date, at least annually. The governance council owns this.
Here's a plain-language template you can adapt in an afternoon. Covers data use, acceptable use cases, staff responsibilities, and client privacy.
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What a data governance council looks like
You don't need a committee of 20.
You need the right 5 voices in the room.
Ensure the council get input for all levels in the organization.
Executive Director/CEO
Final accountability
CFO/Finance
Budget + data controls
IT or Tech Lead
Security + access
Program Lead
Client data owner
HR or Ops
Staff policy rollout
Step 2
Bring your staff along.
This is where AI strategies live or die.
Your people are your biggest asset and your most important variable.
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Some are excited. Some are afraid. Most are somewhere in the middle.
Your job is to lead with honesty, not hype.
1. Awareness and honest conversation
Hold an all-staff session that opens with "here's what AI is, here's what it isn't, and here's why we're exploring it." Address the job displacement question directly. Staff who don't get this conversation from leadership will fill the vacuum with fear.
2. Pilot with volunteers first
Identify 3-5 staff who are curious and willing. Give them a low-stakes use case: drafting meeting summaries, proofreading donor communications, or organizing notes. Document what works. Let their stories be your internal case study before you roll out broadly.
3. Training that meets people where they are
Not everyone needs to become a prompt engineer. Break training into roles: program staff, finance and operations, development/fundraising. Each group has different use cases and different risk profiles. Anthropic's AI Fluency Framework is a good starting point for foundational literacy.
4. Feedback loop and iteration
Create a simple channel (Slack, email alias, whatever you use) where staff can share wins, report issues, and ask questions. The governance council reviews these quarterly. This is how your policy stays alive and your staff feel heard.
Where your staff probably sits right now
20%
Already Using It
50%
Curious But Waiting
30%
Skeptical or Concerned
Step 3
Sign up for a business or team account with one of the
major AI platforms.
Free accounts are fine for personal experimenting.
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For organizational use, you need a paid account for data privacy protections,
team management, and usage controls.
Here are the four main options.
ChatGPT Teams
Widest name recognition. Strong for generalist writing, research, and analysis. Team plan includes privacy protections and shared workspace.
Claude Teams
Exceptional for long documents, grant writing, policy drafting, and financial analysis. Strong safety design. Our personal recommendation for non-profits.
Google Gemini
Best integration if you're already in Google Workspace (Gmail, Docs, Sheets). Low friction for staff already living in Google tools.
Microsoft Copilot
Best integration with Microsoft 365 (Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams). Strong choice if your org runs on M365 and staff live in Office apps.
Here's a framework from Anthropic that you can consider implementing.
The AI Fluency Framework.
